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Combining living on the road with a mainstream lifestyle

Snoopers Rock

Having lamented missing most of the summer, I was happy when my husband asked if I wanted to go for a hike today. As I was reminded yesterday, the summer isn’t over yet. In spite of it being one of the more hot and humid days we’ve had in a while, I was anxious to get outside and spend some time in motion.

My husband and I have different ideas about hiking, however. I want to go at least 5 miles and am willing to go much further if there’s something to see. My husband, who is on his feet all day, prefers to pick very short, easy hikes. We compromised by choosing a place that had 3 overlooks and parked in the middle so we could bail if it turned out to be longer or more difficult than expected.

We headed out to Prentice Cooper Wildlife Management Area, which runs along the Tennessee River Gorge. It’s a beautiful area. Even the drive to get there is inspiring. We saw wild turkey and deer along the way.

The down side of the wildlife management area is the popularity of ATVs and hunting. Fortunately, between the heat and a predicted thunderstorm that never came, there were only a handful of ATVers and we didn’t hear any gunshots. Both make me nervous when we’re hiking with dogs.

Twiggy, visiting with us for the weekend, and Tisen were very enthusiastic when we got out of the car. We headed down what was called Snoopers Rock Trail, but it was really a road. We were passed by a jeep and later a Hyundai sedan, but we weren’t sorry we walked.

The view is fantastic from Snoopers Rock. Of the views I’ve seen of the river gorge, this was the best–the rock is perched above a bend in the river, providing scenery in both directions.

Unfortunately, when we headed off to the second overlook, it wasn’t clear if we were on the right trail or not. We hiked through the woods enjoying the shade and the tiny wildflowers along the trail, but the moisture in the air was gathering like a cloud around us as we walked and the mosquitos reminded us why we used to use insect repellant.

When we’d walked about as far as we thought it was supposed to be to the next overlook, we decided it was time to turn around. The trek back was all uphill. I was shocked by how hard I felt like I was working–it wasn’t that uphill.

It felt great to be in the woods and moving. Even sweating felt good. I feel more alive when I’m pushing my body, even if it’s only a little. The mosquitos I could have done without. But, after all, it is still summer.

Tisen and Twiggy were far less enthusiastic on the way back to the car. I guess I’m not the only one who hasn’t been working out.